Most College Students Want Free Speech On Campuses — But Not When It’s Hate Speech; Huffington Post, 4/4/16

Marina Fang, Huffington Post; Most College Students Want Free Speech On Campuses — But Not When It’s Hate Speech:

"College students want free speech on their campuses but want their administrators to intervene when it turns into hate speech, though they disagree on whether college campuses are open environments and on how the media should cover campus protests, according to a new Gallup survey on the First Amendment released Monday.

About 78 percent of students surveyed said that colleges should allow “all types of speech and viewpoints,” while 22 percent noted that “colleges should prohibit biased or offensive speech in the furtherance of a positive learning environment.”"

Don't mourn the loss of libraries – the internet has made them obsolete; The Telegraph, 3/29/16

John McTernan, The Telegraph; Don't mourn the loss of libraries – the internet has made them obsolete:

"The truth, and it is a sad truth for former librarians like myself, is that the public are voting with their feet. Councils are only following the lead of the public with library closures.

We can, and should, still love books, but we should not be sentimental about libraries, because they are a means to an end. Access to information is now widely available via smartphones: three quarters of us have one, it was one in five in 2010. Library and information services have to be designed with that reality in mind.

The true inequality remains access to books and reading. Children who grow up with and around books do better educationally than those who don’t. That is where childcare, nurseries and schools are the key. Libraries must adapt to the changing habits of adults, where there is a clear and irreversible trajectory there. But they must never abandon children."

GSK Eases IP Rights For Poorest Countries, Considers Patent Pooling For Cancer; Intellectual Property Watch, 3/31/16

Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch; GSK Eases IP Rights For Poorest Countries, Considers Patent Pooling For Cancer:

"The global medicines manufacturer said it wishes to widen access to its innovative new medicines around the world. The company, which already set tiered pricing, data-sharing, and “innovative partnerships,” said it recognises that improved access “requires a flexible and multi-faceted approach to intellectual property (IP) protection,” according to a press release.

GSK is evolving its graduated approach to filing and enforcing patents so that IP protection reflects a country’s economic maturity, said the release.

“For Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Low Income Countries (LICs), GSK will not file patents for its medicines, so as to give clarity and confidence to generic companies seeking to manufacture and supply generic versions of GSK medicines in those countries.”

“For Lower Middle Income Countries (LMICs) generally, GSK will file for patents but will seek to offer and agree licences to allow supplies of generic versions of its medicines for 10 years.” A small royalty on sales is envisaged for those countries, said the release.

For the rest of the countries, GSK “will continue to seek full patent protection...”"

“Other companies, such as Roche, Novartis, Bayer, Astellas, and BMS, with important oncology drugs should begin to engage on expanding access to their patented medicines, beyond just HIV and HCV drugs,” KEI urged."

This scientist nearly went to jail for making up data; Washington Post, 4/1/16

Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post; This scientist nearly went to jail for making up data:

"Scientific integrity took another hit Thursday when an Australian researcher received a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to 17 fraud-related charges. The main counts against neuroscientist Bruce Murdoch were for an article heralding a breakthrough in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. And the judge's conclusions were damning.

There was no evidence, she declared, that Murdoch had even conducted the clinical trial on which his supposed findings were based.

Plus, Murdoch forged consent forms for study participants, one of whom was dead at the time the alleged took place.

Plus, Murdoch fraudulently accepted public and private research money for the bogus study, published in 2011 in the highly reputable European Journal of Neurology.

"Your research was such as to give false hope to Parkinson's researchers and Parkinson's sufferers," said Magistrate Tina Privitera, who heard the case in Brisbane. Still to go to trial is Murdoch's co-author, Caroline Barwood, who has also been charged with fraud."

Sheila Corrall and Kip Currier win LIBER Innovation Award; 45th Annual Conference of LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche – Association of European Research Libraries)

LIBER 2016; Sheila Corrall and Kip Currier win LIBER Innovation Award:

The Program Committee for the 45th Annual Conference of LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche – Association of European Research Libraries) has selected a paper by Sheila Corrall and James D. “Kip” Currier for a LIBER Innovation Award. The paper on "Legal, Ethical, and Policy Issues of “Big Data 2.0” Collaborative Ventures and Roles for Information Professionals in Research Libraries" will be presented at the conference in Helsinki, Finland, on June 29-July 1, 2016.

The awards are sponsored by OCLC and awarded to the 3 most innovative and relevant papers submitted to the LIBER Conference. Award recipients receive a grant of 1000 euros towards travel and conference registration. The award ceremony takes place at the conference plenary on July 1.

Conference Theme: Libraries Opening Paths to Knowledge

Google Apologizes For Terrible April Fools’ Day Prank; Huffington Post, 4/1/16

Damon Beres, Huffington Post; Google Apologizes For Terrible April Fools’ Day Prank:

"Whatever your thoughts on the joke, it’s a good reminder that Gmail — free as it might be — isn’t a public service. It’s a privately owned product subject to the impulses of corporate enterprise. And yes, many of us are accustomed to our entire lives revolving around it...

At the time, cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier raised a couple of important points to The Huffington Post.

“You should be concerned that Facebook can without any due process kick you off their network. You should be concerned that Gmail can lock you out of your email. You should be concerned that the U.S. government can spy on anyone,” Schneier said.

“All of these things can happen without knowledge or consent. We are giving these companies an enormous amount of power over our digital selves and therefore our lives,” he added.

The postal service is obligated to deliver your mail. Google is not obligated to provide you a free email service, nor an email service that’s free from bad April Fool’s Day pranks.

That’s a sobering thought, considering how many of us rely on it. As of February, it’s estimated that 1 billion people use Gmail worldwide."

Museum Reverses Position, Will Mention Bill Cosby’s Alleged Crimes; Slate, 4/1/16

Christina Cauterucci, Slate; Museum Reverses Position, Will Mention Bill Cosby’s Alleged Crimes:

"“We understand but respectfully disagree” with that suggestion, Bunch wrote. “For too long, aspects of African American history have been erased and undervalued, creating an incomplete interpretation of the American past. This museum seeks to tell, in the words of the eminent historian John Hope Franklin, ‘the unvarnished truth’ that will help our visitors to remember and better understand what has often been erased and forgotten.”

Bunch is right—the contributions of people of color have been underplayed and written out of every branch of historical study. In arts and culture in particular, white people have adopted and profited from black traditions for generations. But the lives of sexual assault survivors have been excised from popular histories, too, bolstering the legacies of men who abused their power at others’ expense...

The case of the NMAAHC is both weightier than that of the African Art Museum, since it’s a permanent display, and less so, because the entire exhibition does not hinge on Cosby’s name. The museums’ equivocation speaks to the predicament of many African-American cultural institutions that are grappling with the prospect of Cosby as a fallen star. The Cosby Show was a treasured reflection of black life for people who rarely saw their families represented in popular media, and it both normalized and complicated white America’s understanding of the black upper-middle–class family. There is no doubt that Cosby was an influential force in American comedy and a groundbreaker for black actors and comedians—that’s why the revelations about his alleged history of sexual abuse have so completely shocked and appalled the country. Cosby should absolutely have a place in a museum of black history and culture. But if we are to do right by future generations who’ll interpret Cosby’s legacy from exhibitions like this one, it must not evade the complicated truths of his story."

Grade Inflation Nation; Inside Higher Ed via Slate, 3/29/16

Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed via Slate; Grade Inflation Nation:

"The first major update in seven years to a database on grade inflation has found that grades continue to rise and that A is the most common grade earned at all kinds of colleges...

The trends highlighted in the new study do not represent dramatic shifts but are continuation of trends that Rojstaczer and many others bemoan. He believes the idea of “student as consumer” has encouraged colleges to accept high grades and effectively encouraged faculty members to award high grades.

“University leadership nationwide promoted the student-as-consumer idea,” he said. “It’s been a disastrous change. We need leaders who have a backbone and put education first.”

Rojstaczer said he thinks the only real solution is for a public federal database to release information—for all college—similar to what he has been doing with a representative sample, but still a minority, of all colleges."

GlaxoSmithKline to 'drop patents in poor countries for better drug access'; BBC News, 3/31/16

BBC News; GlaxoSmithKline to 'drop patents in poor countries for better drug access' :

"Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline has said it wants to make it easier for manufacturers in the world's poorest countries to copy its medicines. The British company said it would not file patents in these countries.

Chief executive Sir Andrew Witty said he wanted to take a "graduated" approach to the company's "intellectual property" based on the wealth of nations around the globe.

Experts have described the plans as "brave and positive".

GSK hopes that by removing any fear of it filing for patent protection in poorer countries it will allow independent companies to make and sell versions of its drugs in those areas, thereby widening the public access to them."

Anchor Wendy Bell addresses WTAE firing over Facebook posts; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/30/16

Maria Sciullo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Anchor Wendy Bell addresses WTAE firing over Facebook posts:

"Asked to weigh in on the firing, a journalism ethics expert said freedom of speech is a tricky thing when practiced by those who must adhere to the facts.

“Journalists always — and I don’t use ‘always’ all the time — must be careful about what they write or say because the audience, the readers and the viewers, are depending on them to provide information that they can trust, to be as fair and impartial as possible,” said Aly Colon, a professor of media ethics at Washington and Lee University in Virginia and a former director of standards and practices at NBC News.

Ms. Bell crossed a line when she stated opinion as fact regarding an ongoing news story, he said. Those who write and report the news “have a special responsibility to serve their audience in a way that helps them see what is true, what is accurate and, also very important, authentic.”"

Pittsburgh TV station ‘ends relationship’ with anchor after racially-tinged Facebook post; Washington Post, 3/31/16

Yanan Wang, Washington Post; Pittsburgh TV station ‘ends relationship’ with anchor after racially-tinged Facebook post:

"The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Hearst Television, the parent station of WTAE-TV, said in a statement Wednesday that it had “ended its relationship” with Emmy-winning anchor Wendy Bell because her “recent comments on a WTAE Facebook page were inconsistent with the company’s ethics and journalistic standards.”"

Landmark study on the effects of copyright takedown abuse on online free expression; BoingBoing.net, 3/30/16

Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.net; Landmark study on the effects of copyright takedown abuse on online free expression:

"Three of America's sharpest copyright scholars have released a landmark study of the impact of copyright takedowns on free expression in America: Notice and Takedown in Everyday Practice, by Jennifer Urban (UC Berkeley), Joe Karaganis (Columbia), and Brianna L. Schofiel (UC Berkeley) uses detailed surveys and interviews and a random sample from over 100,000,000 takedown notices to analyze the proportion of fraudulent, malformed or otherwise incorrect acts of censorship undertaken in copyright's name, using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's takedown procedure.

The DMCA is nearly 20 years old, and even before it was passed into law, virtually everyone who was paying attention said that creating a system that allows anything online to be censored through copyright infringement accusations, without due process or even penalties for getting it wrong, would get us into trouble. Now the evidence is in, and it couldn't be more damning."

Humans of New York Founder Takes On Donald Trump; New York Times, 3/26/16

Ruth La Ferla, New York Times; Humans of New York Founder Takes On Donald Trump:

"Brandon Stanton, the nimble shutterbug behind the immensely popular photo blog Humans of New York, has worked hard to filter politics and moral judgments out of his posts, intent on maintaining objectivity as he captures his subjects in words and on film, letting them speak for themselves.

That changed last week when Mr. Stanton, 32, shed his sedulously cultivated neutrality to take on Donald J. Trump, excoriating the Republican presidential candidate in a 300-word Facebook post presented as an open letter to Mr. Trump.

“I’ve watched you retweet racist images,” the post read in part. “I’ve watched you retweet racist lies. I’ve watched you take 48 hours to disavow white supremacy. I’ve watched you joyfully encourage violence, and promise to ‘pay the legal fees’ of those who commit violence on your behalf.”

The reaction was explosive...

Shortly afterward, he was summoned by Katie Couric, Yahoo’s global anchor, to appear as a guest on her web talk show, an occasion he welcomed, telling his host, “I want people to think of this as a moral question, not a political question.”...

“I’m not an activist,” he said. “But in keeping silent about a moral problem, I began to feel a lot of guilt.”"

When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet; NPR, All Tech Considered, 3/29/16

[Podcast, 6 min. 27 sec.] Sarah Hepola, NPR, All Tech Considered; When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet:

"For years, I've complained about the random hatred of the Internet. It was the worst part of writing online: Show up with your heart in your hand, and a bunch of strangers line up to throw rocks in your face. I was so freaked out by comments on my own stories that I had once considered not writing at all anymore. I badly wanted a thicker skin, but I also knew I had become a writer because I was thin-skinned. I took on other people's discomfort, and I flinched at the tiniest finger flick of rejection. I was a sensitive person — but I had just done a very insensitive thing.

I would never have said this to his face. But technology is such a bait and switch, giving you the feel of anonymity at the very moment your words have the farthest reach. And my comment was exactly the kind of random stone-throwing that had wounded me over the years".

80 Big-Name Business Leaders Just Took A Stand Against North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Law; Huffington Post, 3/29/16

Elise Foley, Huffington Post; 80 Big-Name Business Leaders Just Took A Stand Against North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Law:

"The fight against North Carolina’s new anti-LGBT law gained some high-profile support on Tuesday, when more than 80 prominent business leaders signed a letter calling for a full repeal.

“Discrimination is wrong, and we believe it has no place in North Carolina or anywhere in our country,” reads the letter to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R), released by LGBT civil rights groups Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC. “As companies that pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming to all, we strongly urge you and the leadership of North Carolina’s legislature to repeal this law in the upcoming legislative session.”

The legislation, which McCrory signed into law last week, prevents local governments from creating their own rules and ordinances to protect LGBT rights. The governor on Monday dismissed backlash against the legislation as “well-coordinated and more political theater than reality.”

Pressure from corporations has worked before in other states, and the letter made the same arguments that discrimination is bad for business.

Most of the signatories lead companies that aren’t headquartered in North Carolina, but it’s a high-profile list, including the heads of Apple, Facebook, Airbnb, Yahoo, Twitter, Salesforce, Marriott, Pfizer and Levi Strauss. Bank of America, the largest corporation in the state by revenue, was left out of the original letter, but announced later on Tuesday that it had signed the letter."

31st Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference; American Bar Association (ABA), Bethesda, Maryland, April 6-8, 2016

American Bar Association (ABA); 31st Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference:

"The 31st Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference from the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law is recognized as the world's premier IP conference.

These three packed days of learning enable you to earn a year's worth of CLE credit from expert sessions presented by the leaders in every area of the profession. We offer what you need to know along with multiple opportunities to mingle with those who should be part of your network."

Museum’s Plan to Include Cosby Material Draws Criticism From Accusers; New York Times, 3/27/16

Graham Bowley, New York Times; Museum’s Plan to Include Cosby Material Draws Criticism From Accusers:

"Several women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault say they are upset that the new National Museum of African American History and Culture plans not to mention their accusations in an exhibition that recognizes Mr. Cosby’s pioneering work in comedy and television.

“If they just speak about the contributions, there will be this enormous presence that is not talked about,” Patricia Leary Steuer, 59, who has accused Mr. Cosby of assaulting her decades ago, said on Saturday...

The Smithsonian Institution faced questions last year when its National Museum of African Art featured works on loan from the substantial art collection of Mr. Cosby and his wife, Camille.

The Smithsonian eventually put up a sign telling visitors that the museum did not condone the behavior of which Mr. Cosby is accused.

The situation at the new history and culture museum is different from that one, Smithsonian officials have said, noting that Mr. Cosby’s presence in it will be minimal and that he has not donated money or objects to it."

The ACLU Sues to Stop North Carolina’s Anti-LGBTQ Law; Slate.com, 3/28/16

Mark Joseph Stern, Slate.com; The ACLU Sues to Stop North Carolina’s Anti-LGBTQ Law:

"The complaint names three individual plaintiffs: a trans employee at the University of North Carolina; a trans University of North Carolina student; and a lesbian at North Carolina Central University School of Law. These are the perfect plaintiffs, because they allow the ACLU to challenge a key illegality in the North Carolina law (dubbed HB2): It explicitly discriminates against trans people by barring them from using the correct bathroom in any government facility, including public universities. Federal law prohibits discrimination against trans students in schools that receive federal funding—as UNC does. So the ACLU lawsuit effectively highlights the direct clash between HB2 and an existing federal mandate, forcing the state to choose between continued discrimination and continued education funding."

Georgia Governor Vetoes North Carolina-Style “Religious Liberty” Bill; Slate.com, 3/28/16

Mark Joseph Stern, Slate.com; Georgia Governor Vetoes North Carolina-Style “Religious Liberty” Bill:

"In his Monday address, Deal sent a very clear message to the legislature’s anti-LGBT agitators: Your prejudice does not belong in our state’s laws. “HB757 doesn't reflect the character of our state or the character of our people,” Deal declared, explaining that the law is also completely unnecessary: “We do not have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia.” Denouncing the hypocrisy of the bill’s advocates, Deal noted wryly, “I find it ironic that some in the religious community look to government to secure religious rights.” He also explained that “it’s difficult to legislate on something that’s best left to the First Amendment”—music to the ears of civil libertarians, who have long pointed out that the Free Exercise Clause already guarantees religious liberty for all.

“This is about the character of our state and our people,” Deal concluded. “Georgia is a welcoming state full of kind and generous people.” By vetoing HB757, Deal will help to maintain those values of tolerance."

Protecting Employees’ Health Data; New York Times, 3/26/16

Editorial Board, New York Times; Protecting Employees’ Health Data:

"Many states prohibit employers from firing people because they smoke. Michigan and several cities ban discrimination based on weight. But federal law offers little recourse to workers fired because of data showing a pattern of unhealthy behavior.

To address this problem, a group of legal scholars has called for federal legislation that would bar companies from hiring or firing people based on health information gleaned through health data services. It would also ensure employees’ right to see the information these services collected about them and to have that information deleted.

As data analysis techniques evolve, such services will be able to draw ever more sophisticated conclusions about people based on their health care use. Americans need federal protections to make sure that those conclusions don’t cost them their jobs."

My Shared Shame: The Media Helped Make Trump; New York Times, 3/26/16

Nicholas Kristof, New York Times; My Shared Shame: The Media Helped Make Trump:

"All politicians spin, of course. But all in all, I’ve never met a national politician in the U.S. who is so ill informed, evasive, puerile and deceptive as Trump.

When the fact-check website PolitiFact was ready to choose its “lie of the year” for 2015, it found that the only real contenders were falsehoods by Trump. So it lumped them together and awarded the title to “the many campaign misstatements of Donald Trump.”

That pattern of prevarication is what we in the media, especially television, didn’t adequately highlight, leaving many voters with the perception that Trump is actually a straight shooter."

Robert De Niro Pulls Anti-Vaccine Documentary From Tribeca Film Festival; New York Times, 3/26/16

Stephanie Goodman, New York Times; Robert De Niro Pulls Anti-Vaccine Documentary From Tribeca Film Festival:

"Facing a storm of criticism over its plan to show a documentary about the widely debunked link between vaccines and autism, the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday pulled the film from its schedule next month.

In a statement, Robert De Niro, a co-founder of the festival, wrote: “My intent in screening this film was to provide an opportunity for conversation around an issue that is deeply personal to me and my family. But after reviewing it over the past few days with the Tribeca Film Festival team and others from the scientific community, we do not believe it contributes to or furthers the discussion I had hoped for.”

The film, “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe,” was directed and co-written by Andrew Wakefield, the author of a study that was published in the British medical journal The Lancet and then retracted in 2010. Mr. Wakefield’s medical license was also revoked over his failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest and ethics violations."

Ethics court fines Former Justice Eakin $50K for lewd emails; Associated Press via abc27.com, 3/24/16

Mark Scolforo, Associated Press via abc27.com; Ethics court fines Former Justice Eakin $50K for lewd emails:

"Pennsylvania’s judicial ethics court is fining a former state Supreme Court justice $50,000 a week after he resigned for his role in a sweeping scandal over lewd and objectionable emails exchanged in the state’s law enforcement circles.

The court said Thursday that former Justice Michael Eakin jeopardized the judiciary’s reputation by trading emails containing “imagery of sexism, racism, and bigotry.”...

The court notes Eakin’s behavior wasn’t criminal and the punishment would have been more severe if he hadn’t resigned and accepted responsibility."

The Blue Wars: A Report from the Front; Harvard Law Record, 3/21/16

Carl Malamud, Harvard Law Record; The Blue Wars: A Report from the Front:

"The subject of this legal inquisition is a work you all know well: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. A series of letters from Ropes & Gray LLP firmly asserted and repeatedly reminded me of the legal protections surrounding this work including trademark and copyright protections. THE BLUEBOOK A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION, Registration No. 3,886,986; THE BLUEBOOK, Registration No. 3,756,727; The Bluebook A Uniform System of Citation, 20th edition, Copyright Registration No. TX0008140199 (June 5, 2015).

The Blue Wars started in 2009 when Frank Bennett, a law professor at Nagoya University in Japan, was working on some open source software for legal citation. Professor Bennett wanted to build in a resolution mechanism for common abbreviations, for example mapping the court name “Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals” to the designated abbreviation (“Temp. Emer. Ct. App.”). The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation 234 tbl.T.1 (Columbia Law Review Ass’n et al. eds., 20th ed. 2015).

Professor Bennett applied to the Harv. L. Rev. Ass’n for permission to use the rudimentary Bluebook web site and grab the abbreviations. He was firmly rebuffed. Being an open source acolyte, Professor Bennett felt he was entitled to use those common and obvious abbreviations, so he wrote to his spiritual leader [Lawrence Lessig] for help...

These are the challenges in front of us all. What is at stake is not the future of a $36 book, it is the question of how we communicate the law so that we all understand each other; so that our system of justice can be transparent and clear; so that we all know what we’re talking about when we refer to a source. I hope we can do this together."

Obama Declassification Holds Promise of Uncovering New Evidence on Argentina's Dirty War; National Security Archive, 3/23/16

National Security Archive; Obama Declassification Holds Promise of Uncovering New Evidence on Argentina's Dirty War:

"Reinforcing the Obama administration’s planned “comprehensive effort to declassify” historical records on Argentina’s dirty war, the National Security Archive today posted examples of the kinds of materials in U.S. government files that would most likely enhance public understanding of that troubled period in Latin American history. The posted documents, relating not just to regional developments but to official U.S. policy and operations, were declassified either through similar government decrees -- thus setting a useful precedent for current administration officials -- or the U.S. Freedom of Information Act."

Chinese activist's family 'taken away' over letter calling for Xi Jinping to quit; Reuters via Guardian, 3/26/16

Reuters via Guardian; Chinese activist's family 'taken away' over letter calling for Xi Jinping to quit:

"A New York-based Chinese activist has said that China’s authorities have detained three members of his family in connection with an open letter calling for the resignation of president Xi Jinping.

Speaking from New York, Wen Yunchao said his parents and younger brother were “taken away” by the authorities on Tuesday and have disappeared, days after the government “harassed” his family over his suspected involvement in distributing the letter...

President Xi has embarked on an unprecedented effort to clamp down on the internet and censor opinions that do not reflect those of Communist Party leaders, including by imposing tougher penalties for what the Chinese government calls spreading rumours."

Tony Norman: Colleges, quit coddling hypersensitive students; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/25/16

Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Tony Norman: Colleges, quit coddling hypersensitive students:

"My disdain is rooted in a belief in the power of vigorous debate, name calling and constant finger pointing at those institutions and individuals who would undermine freedom of thought and expression. This requires a willingness to engage in conflict, not run crying to mommy or school administrators. The protests against unpopular political expressions currently roiling many American campuses need to be taken seriously. If universities and colleges willingly capitulate to mobs of hothouse flowers yelling to be protected from every instance of intellectual discomfort, then the purpose of higher learning is nil. Higher education shouldn’t be about perpetuating a nation of sheep, scoundrels and ignoramuses who will probably end up voting for Donald Trump, anyway."

Staged picture from Brussels bombings prompts ethics debate; Guardian, 3/25/16

Amber Jamieson, Guardian; Staged picture from Brussels bombings prompts ethics debate:

"A young photojournalist caught on video posing a girl in mourning after the Brussels terror attacks has sparked a furious debate among internationally renowned news photographers about how often news photographs are staged.

In the footage, captured by Fox News during a live cross to Belgium on Wednesday morning, photographer Khaled Al Sabbah can be seen moving the arm of a young girl and directing her in front of the makeshift memorial, while he snaps away with his camera. Photojournalist ethics – outlined by media organizations, industry associations and major competitions – state that news photos cannot be posed.

“It’s one more example of a photographer doing something that destroys public trust in the media,” said Michael Kamber, a former staff photographer at the New York Times and founder of the Bronx Documentary Center, after viewing the video."

Robert De Niro Defends Screening of Anti-Vaccine Film at Tribeca Festival; New York Times, 3/25/16

Pam Belluck and Melena Ryzik, New York Times; Robert De Niro Defends Screening of Anti-Vaccine Film at Tribeca Festival:

"In a decision that has dredged up the widely debunked link between vaccines and autism, the Tribeca Film Festival plans to screen a film by a discredited former doctor whose research caused widespread alarm about the issue.

The film, “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe,” is directed and co-written by Andrew Wakefield, an anti-vaccination activist and an author of a study — published in the British medical journal The Lancet, in 1998 — that was retracted in 2010. In addition to the retraction of the study, which involved 12 children, Britain’s General Medical Council, citing ethical violations and a failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest, revoked Mr. Wakefield’s medical license.

On the festival’s website, the biographical material about Mr. Wakefield does not mention that he was stripped of his license or that his Lancet study was retracted. Rather, it says that the Lancet study “would catapult Wakefield into becoming one of the most controversial figures in the history of medicine.”...

The plan to show the film has unnerved and angered doctors, infectious disease experts and even other filmmakers.

“Unless the Tribeca Film Festival plans to definitively unmask Andrew Wakefield, it will be yet another disheartening chapter where a scientific fraud continues to occupy a spotlight and overshadows the damage he has left behind in the important story of vaccine safety and success,” Dr. Mary Anne Jackson, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said in an email.

The documentary filmmaker Penny Lane (“Our Nixon”) published on Thursday an open letter to the festival’s organizers in Filmmaker Magazine, suggesting that including “Vaxxed” in the documentary section “threatens the credibility of not just the other filmmakers in your doc slate, but the field in general.”"

Woman convicted of working for decade as unlicensed attorney claimed she obtained law degree from Duquesne University; Associated Press via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/25/16

Associated Press via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Woman convicted of working for decade as unlicensed attorney claimed she obtained law degree from Duquesne University:

"A former president of a county bar association has been convicted of using forged documents to pose as an estate lawyer for a decade even though she didn’t have a law license.

Kimberly Kitchen was convicted Thursday on charges of forgery, unauthorized practice of law and felony records tampering in Huntingdon County.

Ms. Kitchen, 45, fooled BMZ Law, a Huntingdon firm, by forging a law license, bar exam results, an email showing she attended Duquesne University law school and a check for a state attorney registration fee, prosecutors said.

The James Creek resident handled estate planning for more than 30 clients despite never attending law school, and she even served as president of the county bar association for a time. She made partner at BMZ before the fraud was discovered."

Education Data, Student Privacy Take Spotlight at Capitol Hill Hearing; Education Week, 3/22/16

Andrew Ujifusa, Education Week; Education Data, Student Privacy Take Spotlight at Capitol Hill Hearing:

"Members of Congress weighed the concerns of parents, researchers, and educators about the sensitive intersection of education data and student privacy at a House education committee hearing Tuesday.

Among the topics: parents' desire for transparency and more control over what data is collected and how it's used; the need for researchers to have comprehensive and varied data; and the work states have done to try to safeguard the data they collect, while ensuring its usefulness to schools.

The hearing didn't take place in a vacuum. Over the past year, several lawmakers have taken a crack at revamping federal rules for how states and districts have to handle sensitive student information. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, passed in 1974, is widely seen as outdated because of its limited definition of a "student record" in a world where states, educational service vendors, and others are gathering new and diverse types of data about students."

Congress seeks to update student data privacy law; FedScoop, 3/22/16

Yizhu Wang, FedScoop; Congress seeks to update student data privacy law:

"Federal lawmakers are intent on updating an education privacy law that hasn't been overhauled in more than 40 years – but they are unsure about how to go about it.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing Tuesday with state technology leaders, education researchers, parent groups and advocates, to gather information about how schools are protecting student data and the vulnerabilities that still exist. Legislators specifically addressed the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which was established in 1974 and revised in 2012 to protect kids' emails and other means of online identification."

Microsoft scrambles to limit PR damage over abusive AI bot Tay; Guardian, 3/24/16

Alex Hern, Guardian; Microsoft scrambles to limit PR damage over abusive AI bot Tay:

"Microsoft is battling to control the public relations damage done by its “millennial” chatbot, which turned into a genocide-supporting Nazi less than 24 hours after it was let loose on the internet.

The chatbot, named “Tay” (and, as is often the case, gendered female), was designed to have conversations with Twitter users, and learn how to mimic a human by copying their speech patterns. It was supposed to mimic people aged 18–24 but a brush with the dark side of the net, led by emigrants from the notorious 4chan forum, instead taught her to tweet phrases such as “I fucking hate feminists and they should all die and burn in hell” and “HITLER DID NOTHING WRONG”."

Hollywood Actors Join Georgia Boycott Threats Over Gay Bill; Reuters via Huffington Post, 3/24/16

Reuters via Huffington Post; Hollywood Actors Join Georgia Boycott Threats Over Gay Bill:

"Anne Hathaway, Julianne Moore and some 30 other Hollywood actors and directors added their voice on Thursday to entertainment industry threats to boycott Georgia if the U.S. state’s governor signs a new law seen as discriminating against gay people.

Movie and TV studios 21st Century Fox, NBC Universal and Time Warner joined Walt Disney , AMC, Viacom and Marvel Entertainment in either opposing the bill, or saying they would take their productions elsewhere...

The entertainment industry is the latest group to come out in force against the Georgia law. More than 300 companies, including Google, Coca-Cola, and Delta Air Lines have urged that it be dropped. The NFL said last week that if the bill is signed, Atlanta could lose the opportunity to host any future Super Bowls."

N.F.L. Issues Statement About Article and The Times Responds; New York Times, 3/24/16

New York Times; N.F.L. Issues Statement About Article and The Times Responds:

"Hours after The New York Times published an article on Thursday that examined deep flaws in the N.F.L.’s early concussion research and the league’s ties to the tobacco industry, the league responded with a statement disputing various aspects of the article.

The statement said the article was “contradicted by clear facts” and that The Times “published pages of innuendo and speculation.”

Data obtained by The Times revealed that more than 100 diagnosed concussions were not included in the studies that formed the backbone of the league’s early stance on the issue. The research was held up by the league as evidence that brain injuries did not cause long-term problems for players."

How North Carolina Just Passed a Blood-Curdling Anti-LGBT Law Right Before Our Eyes; Huffington Post, 3/24/16

Michelangelo Signorile, Huffington Post; How North Carolina Just Passed a Blood-Curdling Anti-LGBT Law Right Before Our Eyes:

"For over a year, long before the Obergefell marriage equality ruling, many warned that the backlash to LGBT equality would be ugly and intense, and that too many LGBT leaders and much of the media weren’t paying attention, caught up in the wins — what I’ve dubbed victory blindness.

The cost, it was noted, would be the stripping of LGBT rights under the radar, with little focus on our issues. Lo and behold, while LGBT rights were front and center for several years and at the forefront of the 2012 presidential election, there’s been hardly any discussion of the issues in the current election campaign, even as anti-LGBT forces in the states, in the GOP leadership, and in Congress have been in overdrive...

The speed with which a horrifically anti-LGBT bill passed the North Carolina legislature was sickening. Within hours of of being introduced in the legislature and getting overwhelming support, a sweeping bill which overturned existing ordinances protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in cities and counties across the state — and which banned transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity — was signed by the GOP governor, Pat McCrory.

HB2 is the most heinous, homophobic, transphobic law we have ever seen — just read it."

Obama Declassifies Documents Related to Argentina’s Dirty War; Wall Street Journal, 3/24/16

Ryan Dube and Taos Turner, Wall Street Journal; Obama Declassifies Documents Related to Argentina’s Dirty War:

""Democracies have to have the courage to acknowledge when we don’t live up to the ideals that we stand for, when we’ve been slow to speak up for human rights, and that was the case here,” Mr. Obama added.

Mr. Macri, who had asked the U.S. to declassify the documents, said Mr. Obama’s visit on the coup anniversary was an opportunity for Argentines to say “never again in Argentina to political violence, never again to institutional violence.”

“Today we need to reaffirm our commitment to democracy and human rights,” he added.

The State Department has declassified over 4,000 documents from the Dirty War period. The documents underscore the divide among some U.S. officials about how to respond to the military regime, which ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983.

At the center of the controversy is former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who met with top officials from Argentina’s military regime shortly after the coup on March 24, 1976."

In N.F.L., Deeply Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Big Tobacco; New York Times, 3/24/16

Alan Schwarz, Walt Bogdanich, Jacqueline Williams, New York Times; In N.F.L., Deeply Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Big Tobacco:

"With several of its marquee players retiring early after a cascade of frightening concussions, the league formed a committee in 1994 that would ultimately issue a succession of research papers playing down the danger of head injuries. Amid criticism of the committee’s work, physicians brought in later to continue the research said the papers had relied on faulty analysis.

Now, an investigation by The New York Times has found that the N.F.L.’s concussion research was far more flawed than previously known.

For the last 13 years, the N.F.L. has stood by the research, which, the papers stated, was based on a full accounting of all concussions diagnosed by team physicians from 1996 through 2001. But confidential data obtained by The Times shows that more than 100 diagnosed concussions were omitted from the studies — including some severe injuries to stars like quarterbacks Steve Young and Troy Aikman. The committee then calculated the rates of concussions using the incomplete data, making them appear less frequent than they actually were.

After The Times asked the league about the missing diagnosed cases — more than 10 percent of the total — officials acknowledged that “the clubs were not required to submit their data and not every club did.” That should have been made clearer, the league said in a statement, adding that the missing cases were not part of an attempt “to alter or suppress the rate of concussions.”

One member of the concussion committee, Dr. Joseph Waeckerle, said he was unaware of the omissions. But he added: “If somebody made a human error or somebody assumed the data was absolutely correct and didn’t question it, well, we screwed up. If we found it wasn’t accurate and still used it, that’s not a screw-up; that’s a lie.”

These discoveries raise new questions about the validity of the committee’s findings, published in 13 peer-reviewed articles and held up by the league as scientific evidence that brain injuries did not cause long-term harm to its players. It is also unclear why the omissions went unchallenged by league officials, by the epidemiologist whose job it was to ensure accurate data collection and by the editor of the medical journal that published the studies."

White House tech office to co-host open data roundtables; FedScoop, 3/22/16

Wyatt Kash, FedScoop; White House tech office to co-host open data roundtables:

"The White House Office of Science Technology Policy has unveiled plans to co-host four open data roundtables, with the first to get underway Thursday, as part of a continuing push to advance the use of federal data.

The sessions are expected to bring together a limited number of technical, policy and legal experts from federal agencies, academia and the private sector — and collect input from the public — as part of an effort to accelerate the use of government open data sets, according to an OSTP briefing.

The roundtables, which will be co-hosted and conducted by the Center for Open Data Enterprise, which conducted similar roundtables last year, will focus on four challenges confronting the open data community...

As governments open access to data, law lags far behind; ABA Journal, 3/17/16

Lorelai Laird, ABA Journal; As governments open access to data, law lags far behind:

"From municipalities to the White House, governments are launching open data projects—but the judicial branch is falling behind.

Such was the opening, frustrated message of “Public Service Legal Technology in the Data.Gov Era,” a Thursday-morning panel at ABA Techshow.

Adam Ziegler of Harvard Law School’s Library Innovation Lab hammered home the message with a quick tour of government data projects. The federal government has data.gov, a website that offers publicly available data on many topics related to executive branch agencies; 18F: a series of projects from the General Services Administration; and the U.S. Digital Service, a White House project seeking to streamline government services. The White House even has a page on GitHub, a website that allows programmers to post and collaborate on their work.

“We are in an era of amazing progress in access to government data,” said Ziegler, a programmer and former attorney. But “where are we with the law? Almost nowhere, unfortunately.” The nonprofit U.S. Open Data assessed publicly accessible legal information in every state—and found poor accessibility almost everywhere.

Ziegler’s lab is doing its best to change that with its ambitious “Free the Law” project with Ravel Law, which will scan Harvard’s entire 40,000-volume collection of U.S. case law."

A toddler got meningitis. His anti-vac parents gave him an herbal remedy. The toddler died. Now his parents are on trial. Washington Post, 3/18/16

Michael E. Miller, Washington Post; A toddler got meningitis. His anti-vac parents gave him an herbal remedy. The toddler died. Now his parents are on trial. :

"Ezekiel died from bacterial meningitis and empyema, two conditions routinely cured with antibiotics, a medical examiner told the court last week, according to the Lethbridge Herald.

If convicted, the parents could spend up to five years in prison.

The case has stirred outrage across Canada and the United States. It comes at a time when belief in natural and homeopathic remedies is on the rise in North America. More controversially, anti-vaccine sentiment is also surging, leading to a resurgence of once vanquished diseases like measles and whooping cough.

The toddler’s tragic death raises questions of whether and when parents have a duty to take their children to the hospital, despite their personal or religious beliefs.

Ezekiel Stephan wasn’t old enough to speak for himself when he died. Nonetheless, he has become a lightning rod for a raging debate."

Crosswords and copyright; Washington Post, 3/15/16

David Post, Washington Post; Crosswords and copyright:

"What’s interesting, to me, in all this, aside from the light it sheds on puzzle construction, is that it illustrates how “plagiarism,” though it is often conflated with copyright infringement, actually covers very different territory and involves very different interests. A crossword’s “theme” is probably one element of the puzzle-creator’s work that is not protected by copyright; copyright law doesn’t protect “ideas,” only the expression of ideas, and a puzzle’s theme is, in my opinion, just such an unprotectable “idea,” free for the taking (as far as copyright law is concerned). But it’s precisely this kind of taking — theme theft — that gets the angriest response from those in the puzzle-writing business.

This has a direct parallel in academic writing. There, too, the plagiarism norms focus on a kind of borrowing that the law of copyright deems permissible: taking another’s ideas or expression without attribution. Nobody in the academic world will complain if you use their ideas or quote their work — in fact, that’s very much the whole point of the enterprise. But to do so without citation — that will get you into the hottest of hot water. [Just ask Doris Kearns Goodwin, or Stephen Ambrose or Joseph Ellis]. Yet copyright law gives an author no enforceable right to have his/her work properly attributed to him/her — a fact that surprised the hell out of many of my law prof colleagues when they first learned of it (insofar as proper attribution was really the only thing they cared about)."

Asia On The Heels Of US And Europe In Patent Applications At WIPO; Developing Countries Lagging; Intellectual Property Watch, 3/16/16

Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch; Asia On The Heels Of US And Europe In Patent Applications At WIPO; Developing Countries Lagging:

"China, Japan and South Korea are among the top five countries filing international patent applications at the World Intellectual Property Organization, while the United States continues to lead in patent and trademark applications. Far behind, developing countries seem to be having a hard time catching up...

The top 10 countries filing under the PCT in 2015 were the US (57,385), Japan (44,235), and China (29,846), followed by Germany, South Korea, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden.

According to a WIPO press release, the US has filed the largest annual number of international patent applications for 38 years running. Patent-filing activity by China-based innovators accounted for much of the overall growth in applications, according to the release.

Computer technology and digital communication saw the largest numbers of filing in 2015, each exceeding 16,000, according to the release."

Status of gene patents in Canada unresolved, despite successful challenge; The Canadian Press via CTV News, 3/20/16

The Canadian Press via CTV News; Status of gene patents in Canada unresolved, despite successful challenge:

"One of the most contentious issues in genetics is whether researchers should be allowed to patent human genes found to cause disease and to commercialize diagnostic tests based on those mutated snippets of DNA.

Courts in the U.S. and Australia, for example, have banned the practice, but in Canada no law prohibits scientists from taking out patents on bits of the human genome and their associated products for use in patients.

But an out-of-court settlement earlier this month between an Ottawa hospital and a global company that holds patents on genes and a related test for a potentially deadly heart rhythm disorder may have vastly altered the Canadian gene-patenting landscape.

In what could be characterized as a David and Goliath contest, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) launched a court challenge in late 2014 against U.S.-based Transgenomic Inc., which holds patents on five of the flawed genes underpinning long QT syndrome and the diagnostic test for the inherited disorder...

Open Data: Why We Should Care; Huffington Post, 3/17/16

Apolitical, Huffington Post; Open Data: Why We Should Care:

"Excited by the connectivity revolution, governments all over the world are trying to find clever uses for the enormous amounts of digital information they now possess. One of the Big Data movements with the most momentum is Open Data — making this information available to the public. But what good does this actually do? Apolitical spoke to three pioneers in the field in Burkina Faso, Brazil and India, who told us about fighting corruption, ensuring free elections and preventing crime. These real, substantive issues go beyond the inevitably vague buzzwords of transparency and accountability. Here we discover what Open Data can really do about them."

How The Trump Campaign Could Evolve Into Organized Violence, In 6 Steps; Huffington Post, 3/17/16

Daniel Marans and Ryan Grim, Huffington Post; How The Trump Campaign Could Evolve Into Organized Violence, In 6 Steps:

"UPDATE: 3/19 — On March 15, some anonymous Trump supporters started the Lion Guard, which calls itself an “informal civilian group dedicated to the safety and security of #Trump supporters by exposing Far-Left rioters,” in person and on social media.

“The Lion Guard is a call to put the words ‘Make America Great Again’ into action and aid Trump’s security and show our adversaries we are disciplined, perceptive, and watching,” the group’s “Call to Action” states.

PREVIOUSLY:

Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday floated the idea of paying the legal fees of a white supporter who sucker-punched a black man leaving a rally. Later that day, he claimed “no responsibility” for political violence, suggesting instead that protesters are dangerous and that his supporters are right to “hit back.” He even blamed Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for sending protesters to disrupt his rallies, and threatened to sic his supporters on Sanders in retaliation.

Extreme political movements like Trump’s often go hand-in-hand with street violence. But organized militias like Adolf Hitler’s brown shirts and Benito Mussolini’s black shirts don’t spring up overnight. They evolve. Here’s how the process works."

No, Not Trump, Not Ever; New York Times, 3/18/16

David Brooks, New York Times; No, Not Trump, Not Ever:

"Donald Trump is an affront to basic standards of honesty, virtue and citizenship. He pollutes the atmosphere in which our children are raised. He has already shredded the unspoken rules of political civility that make conversation possible. In his savage regime, public life is just a dog-eat-dog war of all against all.

As the founders would have understood, he is a threat to the long and glorious experiment of American self-government. He is precisely the kind of scapegoating, promise-making, fear-driving and deceiving demagogue they feared.

Trump’s supporters deserve respect. They are left out of this economy. But Trump himself? No, not Trump, not ever."

Privacy versus speech in the Hulk Hogan sex tape trial; Los Angeles Times, 3/14/16

Erwin Chemerinsky, Los Angeles Times; Privacy versus speech in the Hulk Hogan sex tape trial:

"Indeed, this case reflects how the changing notions of privacy in society make it much harder to decide what would be offensive to the reasonable person and what isn't of public concern.

But juries, it's said, make decisions based on emotion, on the gut. Accordingly, St. Petersburg jurors may ultimately find it hard to accept that Gawker's speech rights reach into Bollea's bedroom, notwithstanding the plaintiff's lewd persona. There is a difference, after all, between talking about sex and watching it.

If the jury sides with Bollea, 1st Amendment absolutists will worry about the “chilling effect” the verdict may have on speech, and will claim it's impossible to draw a line between permissible and impermissible expression. Speech is speech.

But I can imagine a clear rule: No videos of people having sex should be made public unless all of the participants consent. I think the media will survive the restriction."

What The Hulk Hogan Verdict Means For Freedom Of The Press; Huffington Post, 3/19/16

Chris D'Angelo, Huffington Post; What The Hulk Hogan Verdict Means For Freedom Of The Press:

"Mary-Rose Papandrea, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, agreed it likely won’t have a larger effect, because “most journalists and most publishers are careful, and err on the side of protecting privacy.”

Even so, there is currently an “anything goes“ mentality when it comes to publishing information about celebrities, Eric Goldman, co-director of Santa Clara University’s High Tech Law Institute, told Fusion. Indeed, Gawker had argued in court that by repeatedly discussing his own sex life in public, Hogan made the subject fair game. Their loss, Goldman said, might result in “some rethinking of that mentality.”

Since the verdict, Nick Denton, Gawker’s founder, made clear Gawker plans to appeal.

Until then, one can only assume the $115 million verdict will result in other outlets thinking long and hard before publishing the next sex tape that surfaces."

Jury Awards Hulk Hogan $115 Million In Gawker Sex Tape Lawsuit; Huffington Post, 3/18/16

Chris D'Angelo, Huffington Post; Jury Awards Hulk Hogan $115 Million In Gawker Sex Tape Lawsuit:

"A Florida jury has sided with Hulk Hogan in the lawsuit the former professional wrestler filed against Gawker Media, awarding him $115 million in damages — $15 million more than he sought.

Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, sued Gawker in 2012 after the online media outlet published an excerpt of a video showing Bollea having sex with the wife of his then-best friend, Bubba The Love Sponge Clem. Hogan and his attorneys alleged publishing the video was an invasion of his privacy. Gawker argued the clip was newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment."